We Shall Rise
by Sarah Serena Rose
Summary: "Wow, you actually shot me." A post 11.23 finale story that wraps up some loose ends, contains some confessions and ultimately leads two brothers to reconnect.
1. Chapter 1

At this point, he doesn't care if she pulls the trigger. Couldn't give one fuck - at least the physical pain would override any emotional anguish that he's feeling.

But this Antonia, or whoever she calls herself - shoots.

It hits him in the left shoulder and he stumbles backwards, hitting the edge of the table and using it to stabilize himself.

Gunpowder. Noise. Pain. _Pain. Pain. Pain_. _makeitstop makeitstop makeitstop_

He grunted and pressed his right palm onto the wound.

"Wow, you _actually_ fucking shot me. Feel proud of yourself? To shoot The Sam _Fucking_ Winchester? Shoulda just killed me you know, so I wouldn't make anymore messes and eventually destroy the Earth. But hey, the Sun is fine and the Darkness is dead and so is my brother so there's nothing really left for me anyway."

Sam let out a bitter laugh and looked up at the woman who was staring at him with an edge of disgust, confusion and sadness? He was going to comment on the latter emotion in her eyes, but she beat him to it.

"Samuel, I don't mean you any harm. But I do have orders to bring you in."

He rolled his eyes and glanced upwards in exasperation, not wanting anything to do with her nonsense. "Oh dear God. Chuck I really wish you were alive, cause I'd really like her to leave right now and let me grieve in peace, maybe give Cas back as well."

"You always were the Winchester who prayed so I suppose I could give you a hand."

Chuck appeared between Sam and Toni, a large smile on his face. He looked happy, his hands outstretched in greeting.

"Holy shit, Chuck."

"Hello Sam." Came from his warm voice.

Sam swallowed, smiling at the man/being. Wait, how was he alive? _The scales-_

"Are fine."

He blinked as Chuck reappeared at his side, giving him slight whiplash, and placed a hand over his shoulder. It glowed a white light, and he felt it tingle over the bullet wound as it healed.

God gazed into his eyes. "Me and my sister came to an agreement. Oh and Dean's alright, he's with your mum somewhere in Indiana."

A gunshot went off, and it froze a foot out of the barrel. Sam barely had time to glance over Chuck's shoulder to see where the sound had come from, too dazed at the fact that _Dean was alive._

Toni gasped, her hands a little less sure around the gun. Chuck gave him a wink and turned around, "Hello Annatonia, nice to meet you. I see you've come to talk some sense into Sammy here eh? Well that's not okay with me right now, so he'll let you out of the dungeon in a couple hours. Capisce?"

Her eyes widened, and with a snap of Gods fingers, she vanished. Castiel reappeared in her place, quickly glancing at the surroundings in confusion.

Sam sucked in a deep breath, trying to process everything that had gone on. Dean was alive? Alive he was...alive. What was that part about his mother?

"Wait. Mom. What?"

Chuck smiled brightly. "Here's my gift to you Sam Winchester. Well, it was actually from Sis, but hey. Call it a thanks for helping me all this time. You are pure and finally deserve some happiness Sam, so thank you."

He snapped once more, and they found themselves in the woods. Sam blinked quickly a few times to adjust to the change in light, wondering where Chuck had sent them.

The angel beside him cleared his throat, "Pardon me for swearing, but what the fuck just occurred?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at the profanity coming from the angels mouth and clasped his friend on the shoulder. "No idea Cas. But Chuck said Dean was alive, so he must be around here somewhere."

He felt the ache abate in his chest; it had settled in ever since Dean had volunteered to destroy Amara. But, his brother was alive. Somehow...he was alive.

* * *

Sooo that finale yeah? Couldn't help but write something afterwards and I may flesh this out later. We'll see!


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: I was hit with an urge to add to this, so here's another chapter.

* * *

For a man that the world seemed to conspire against his whole life, he was lucky. Or course, lucky in the lightest sense of the word. Given everything that they'd faced, and still came out alive they were lucky. But the victories were always pyrrhic, because they lost _so much_ along the way.

He hated it when the thoughts and doubt crossed his mind. All the people...it made him falter and doubt himself to why he was alive when so many before him had fallen. It was surreal, given the pain and destruction he'd caused. Antonia was correct about that, unfortunately so. Blinking harshly a few times, he tried to calm his emotions, but he'd been keyed up for months now. It was hard not to be anxious when something with a power greater than _God_ was after your head. But, it was his fault after all, so the feelings were justified. Why should he be happy when he had cause so much pain? And Chuck telling him he was pure? He could have scoffed, but everything had happened so fast. Him, _pure?_ No, that just couldn't be true. He was destined for evil the moment he was born, destined to be The Boy King, Lucifer's holy vessel; a pawn that the darkness of the Earth could control at their whim. His whole body was _dirty_ and the demon blood didn't have anything to do with it. He'd always been different from Dean and John, the choices he made...some of them were so discrepant from how he knew his brother and father would have acted. Maybe it had come from his Mom's side. As much as he wished he could believe Chuck, there was a part of him that knew he would never be cleansed.

"Sam," a deep voiced echoed from his left, and gathering his attention from the loud thoughts. "I...wish to apologize."

The pair stopped walking, the coolness of the forest air surrounded them.

"Cas?" He questioned.

The angel fidgeted and rolled his shoulders, "I'm sorry for allowing Lucifer to use me as a vessel. I was under the impression that he would be able to get rid of Amara and I'm sorry."

"It's alright Cas, I know you thought you were doing the right thing. He tried to make me do the same thing, but I...I couldn't ever be _his_ again."

A sigh was let out into the night, "I know Sam, but I'm sorry because I know what he _did_ to you and how blasphemous it was, how you felt about him. I should never have let my brother possess me. It wasn't fair to you. It surprised me how long you were able to tolerate him in your presence."

Sam had almost flinched at his companions words, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. Cas knew, of course he did. "That's why I couldn't handle knowing that Gadreel had been _in_ me, without my consent. Using me for his own purposes. I was so _angry_ at Dean, I can't loose control like that anymore, I can't because It's so much like being possessed by Lucifer, Meg...how I acted when I was drinking demon blood."

A hand was gently placed onto his shoulder, and he was aware of his now damp eyes.

"You have been atoned for all that Sam, you are not the same man since I first met you. You are no longer the boy with the demon blood in him or the 'abomination' and I'm sorry that I was ever so harsh to you. Heaven's influence on you was not your choice, Lucifer and Gadreel were not your choice Sam. It is hard not to feel violated by the angels that you always prayed to and believed in. You were under the assumption that we were there to protect you, and they never should have taken advantage of that. I shouldn't have. You are one of my best friends now, and you deserve to be happy."

The angel smiled, his blue eyes gleaming in the darkness. The man in front of him took a deep breath, as tears cascaded down his cheeks.

"Thank you Castiel."

"You never have to thank me Sam, that is what friends are for, is it not?"

The younger man smiled thinly and wiped away the wetness from his face. "Yeah I guess you're right. " Cas squeezed his shoulder gently before letting go.

"I think you should talk to Dean about all these pent up thoughts Sam. They are not a good look on you, and are causing you distress."

They continued walking through the woods, following the path that looked suspiciously new. "I suppose now that things have finally settled down, I could do that. I just feel like it's a little late now."

"I'm sure Dean will not mind, you are his brother after all."

Sam shook his head, about to comment, but the sound of voices up ahead caused him to pause. "That must be Dean, come on!" he said excitedly and started to run down the dim path.

Castiel stood in place for a moment, glanced up at the sky and hoped that he would be able to help the brothers reconnect once more.

"Coming!" He yelled, and jogged to catch up to Sam.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam ran, _ranranran_ as fast as he could down the path. His heart was pounding in his chest, hair flying wild around his head and he barely registered anything in passing as he made his way towards the voices. It was Dean. It had to be, Chuck said he would be there, but he didn't want to be disappointed if his brother wasn't, didn't want that hope to replace the ache in his chest if it was just going to be crushed.

His feet crushed leaves and pine needles along the way, the air buzzing as it went past his ears.

He was perplexed at what Chuck had said about Dean and his Mom and it being a gift from him and Amara. And the fact that the two siblings had reconciled in the first place. Sam was glad, boy was he glad, because that meant his brother was alive and the world was finally safe, hopefully once and for all.

The path ended abruptly up ahead, and he slowed his pace when he entered a little clearing that was surrounded in pines while the moon illuminated the space. There were two distinct figures standing in the middle of the clearing. He noticed Dean right away, standing frozen, his face contorted in confusion as he was staring at the woman standing in front of him.

Sam gaped, his mouth going slack as he blinked a few times. It was like he couldn't breath, but he could feel his heart as it continued to pound in his chest.

The blonde hair, the white dress. It reminded him so of Jessica, but he knew it wasn't her. It was the other woman that had been torn from his life, one that he had never been able to meet. Mary Winchester. Mom. His head spun, it was like every moment he had ever talked about her and all the pictures he'd seen were being torn from his memories and being flashed in front of him.

Mom. _Mom._

Suddenly, he vaguely heard two voices calling his name as the pressure in his head became too much, his knees became too weak and he fell to the grass.

* * *

Dean made his way through the trees into the clearing wondering where the hell he was, when he heard the sound of a woman's voice.

"Help me!"

He sighed, and walked over to where the sound was coming from. The mysteries never seemed to end. He'd just finished watching God, who preferred to be called Chuck, reunite with his evil sister who had threatened to destroy the Earth and vanish into thin air. He didn't think he'd ever see anything stranger than that.

But then he came across the woman who was shouting, and she turned around.

Dean blinked, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Mom?"

The woman looked at him, her gaze inquiring as she asked, "Where are we? And who are you?"

He felt like he wouldn't be able to speak. This was Amara's gift. His mother. _Mom._ What the fuck? The woman he had missed for years was suddenly in front of him and he didn't know how to proceed.

Dean shook his head and tried to think of what to say, it seemed that Mary was brought back from just before she had...died. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't help but think about how weird this was and let out a strangled chuckle instead.

"Excuse me, but who are you? And what's so funny? I was just going to check on my son, and now I'm here. Wherever the hell this is."

He couldn't help but tense at the mention of her checking on her son. _Sammy._ He needed to call his brother and tell him he was alight! The damn kid was probably drowning himself in whiskey right now.

"Look, I know you might not believe me, but my name is Dean Winchester...and I'm sorta your son."

Before she could comment further, a sound that came from the other end of the clearing drew his attention. It sounded like someone was running, leaves crunching under their shoes.

Someone entered from a dimly lit path that the moon shone down on, and he was immediately filled with relief. It was Sam, he could recognize that lanky, giant of a brother anywhere. How the hell did he get here? Glancing back at Mary, he was going to tell her that her other son who was just a baby moments ago, was right behind her. Though Dean didn't have a chance, as he saw his brother fall to the forest floor.

"Sam!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Sam!"

The yell ripped out of his throat without warning. His focus drifted from the woman who for all intents and purposes, should be dead and instead to his brother who abruptly fell to the ground.

Dean ran over, heart pumping and crashed onto the grass beside his comatose brother. His ears were ringing, he couldn't comprehend what was happening. Doing what he could, he carefully flipped his brother onto his back and cradled Sam's head on his knees. What the hell was going on? Things were supposed to alright, he didn't die, surprisingly and their mother was _alive._ Their couldn't be anything wrong with his brother, not _now._

"Dean!" His attention was divided when he saw Cas jog over towards them. The angel looked distraught at the sight of Sam. "What happened?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, Sam just ran in from the woods, caught one sight of Mom and fainted. Please tell me he's going to be okay. Cas..."

The elder Winchester looked up at his friend with sadness and a broken gaze.

Castiel bent down and reached out to press two fingers to the younger Winchesters forehead. He sent out a few tendrils of grace and sat back for a moment, a shy smile on his features.

"He will be fine Dean. I think he fainted from exhaustion and shock."

Dean sighed in relief, swiping hair out of his brothers eyes and placing a steady hand on his shoulder. He peered over at his companion and saw that Cas had taken notice of Mary Winchester, who was now making her way over towards them.

"I didn' faint," unexpectedly came in a low grumble between them."Too manly to faint. "

Sam slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. His brothers green eyes stared back in what seemed like solace. "Hi."

"Hi? You faint and give me a heart attack and all you have to say is 'Hi?'" Came from Dean in a heartfelt, mocking manner.

Sam grinned, "Yeah."

"You little shit," Dean chastised, giving his brothers hair a ruffle before helping him sit up.

He was wary though, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Could they be this lucky, for once?

Sam and Cas began talking, and he was still lost in thought about unlucky possibilities when a feminine voice echoed into the night.

"Is he alright?"

* * *

Sam woke as though he had been drugged, it was groggy, slow and he struggled to remember what had happened. He could hear vague voices in the distance. One had a distinct pitch and deep tone. _Cas._ The other was deep and concerned, one voice he could identify anywhere, _Dean._ So he was safe then, if he was with his brother and Castiel. The next question was where were they? He was slightly cold, could feel cool air and rustling of leaves. Could feel grass between his fingers and a damp frigidness against his back. Sam didn't have time to figure out that question, as a pressure was then against his head and he felt warmth seep through his whole body.

 _"...fainted from exhaustion and shock."_

Taking a few more moments in his head, he decided to speak. "I didn' faint. Too manly to faint."

Opening his eyes, he saw that his brother was staring back. "Hi." He could point out stars and foliage behind Dean's head, so they were definitely out in the woods.

His brother looked shocked at his greeting. ""Hi? You faint and give me a heart attack and all you have to say is 'Hi?'"

He grinned, elation at seeing his brother alive and well. "Yeah."

"You little shit," his brother said in good nature and reached out to ruffle his hair in an act that he hadn't engaged in, in many years. Sam slowly sat up, with aid from Dean and noticed that Cas was kneeling beside them.

The angel smiled, "Sam, I'm glad you're awake."

He smiled back, "Thanks Cas, me too. How long was I out?"

"Only for a minute or two. I believe it was from exhaustion and shock."

Sam frowned. Shock. Shock from what?

"Is he alright?"

The question arose from a female voice, and all three men snapped their attention towards her.

He almost swore on the spot. _Holy shit._ It was their mom. It truly was, standing there in her bare feet and white night gown from the night she had died. She looked concerned. Sam's eyes widened and the reason he had passed out became clear. Chuck had been correct, and his brother _and_ mother were alive. This was...this was amazing. Turning his gaze to Dean, he saw his brother was in the same state as him. Shock, yet contentment and happiness.

Mary raised an eyebrow, slightly unnerved by the intense stares. "Are all three of you alright? You look as though someone died."

Sam pressed his lips together, and fought not to let out a laugh. The way she had phrased their surprise was nothing close to the truth.

Dean was the first one to speak, "Well, uh, that's a long story..." he began, scratching his head.

She crossed her arms, "Like you supposedly being my son?"

"...yeah, like that," he finished lamely. "Look if you'll hear us out, we'll tell you why were all out here and what's going on."

Her eyes were intense and confused, but her curiosity must have won out. "Alright, I suppose that would be alright. But I would like to go home at some point."

Sam swallowed, and he saw Dean falter a bit at her words. "Yeah of course, but uh how about we go to our place first. Cas, can you zap us there?"

The angel nodded, and Sam was going to protest on behalf of Mary because she didn't have any clue about what was going to happen. Or the fact that angels existed.

But before he could speak, Castiel snapped his fingers.


End file.
